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2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season (kdenny)
The 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season '''was the first season to feature a major hurricane landfall in the United States in 9 years. A below average hurricane season, activity was limited due to the onset of an El Niño developing across the equatorial Pacific. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates that conventionally delimit the period during each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The first and most destructive storm of the season, Arthur, formed on July 1 and the final storm of the season, Isaias, dissipated on November 4. Pre-season forecasts by the Colorado State University (CSU) called for a below average season, with 9 named storms, 3 hurricanes, and 1 major hurricane. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first outlook on May 22, predicting a total of 8–13 named storms, 3–6 hurricanes, and 1–2 major hurricanes; both agencies noted the likelihood of an significant El Niño, which limits tropical cyclone activity. Following two months of inactive conditions across the Atlantic, the CSU updated their forecast to remain at 9 named storms, 3 hurricanes, and 1 major hurricane, while the NOAA remained the same. Although pre-season forecasts verified, the season still brought significant damage to the United States. Although only 9 tropical cyclones developed, two of them, Bertha and Gonzalo, caused significant damage across the southern United States. The second and most destructive storm of the season, Bertha, developed in early-August. A relatively small yet powerful hurricane, Bertha made landfall in southern Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, similar in intensity to 1992's Hurricane Andrew. Although Bertha was weaker than Andrew, Bertha still caused roughly $52 billion dollars (2014 USD) in damages to Florida. The second notable system and also the strongest, Hurricane Gonzalo, peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on September 27, the first Category 5 in the Atlantic since Hurricane Felix in 2007, and made landfall in South Padre Island, Texas as a Category 5 hurricane early on September 27, resulting in $8.5 billion dollars (2014 USD) in damages, mainly from the extreme wind and flooding. '''Storms Hurricane Arthur A low pressure came off the Carolinas. A weak tropical disturbance formed east of Florida on June 28. It developed into Tropical Depression One early on July 1, due to enough convection and warm waters. The depression organized into Tropical Storm Arthur later that day. Initially dry air and wind shear were a problem associated with a trough, and the storm was slow to organize. On July 2, the storm had halted its westward advancement and started to move to the north in response to a trough. As Arthur moved away from the dry air, it became vertically stacked and intensification resumed. Arthur became a Category 1 hurricane on July 3 as it approached the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Further intensification continued, and Arthur made landfall near Morehead City, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 100mph. Arthur's landfall was not for long, and the storm emerged off the coast of North Carolina and began to accelerate. Arthur peaked with maximum sustained winds of 105mph early on July 5. The storm began to lose tropical characteristics and was declared extra-tropical the next day. Arthur brought heavy rain and wind to the Mid-Atlantic, costing roughly $10 million (2014 USD) dollars in damages. No fatalities were reported as a result of Arthur. Hurricane Bertha An area of disturbed weather east of the Winward Islands was monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in early-August. Although development was generally well anticipated, genesis did not occur as the area of disturbed weather moved through the Caribbean due to the higher trade winds in the region as well as land interaction with Hispaniola. As the area of disturbed weather moved away from Hispaniola, the area of low pressure began to reorganize into Tropical Depression Two, the second tropical cyclone of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season. In the warm waters of the Bahamas, the tropical depression was able to quickly become better organized, and became Tropical Storm Bertha late on August 7. Gradual intensification continued, and the storm was upgraded to a hurricane on August 8th. Hurricane warnings were promptly issued in response to the storms gradual intensification across the southeastern coast of Florida from the Florida Keys to Ft. Lauderdale, with tropical storm watches and warnings extending even farther. After being declared a hurricane, the storm underwent rapid intensification throughout the night of the 8th and into the morning of the 9th. Mandatory evacuations were declared throughout Miami as the storm became a major hurricane late-morning on August 9th. The storm made landfall as a 145mph Category 4 hurricane on the late-evening of August 9th in Miami-Dade county. The National Hurricane Center recorded a peak wind gust of 137mph before the barometer failed. After making landfall in Florida, the storm re-emerged off the coast of west Florida on August 10th as a minimal Category 2 hurricane. Strong wind shear prevented Bertha from strengthening, and the storm made landfall near Pensacloa, Florida as a 105mph Category 2 hurricane on August 11th. The storm slowly weakened and stalled out over the southeastern United States, before dissipating on the 13th. In all, Bertha brought significant destruction to the United States and Florida, with damage totals estimated at roughly $50 billion (2014 USD) in Miami-Dade county, alone. Bertha also spawned numerous tornadoes, including an EF-5 tornado in Mississippi, the strongest ever tornado recorded with a tropical cyclone. Overall, Arthur caused roughly $52.5 billion (2014 USD) dollars in damages, making Bertha the third most destructive Atlantic hurricane on record, behind Sandy (2012) and Katrina (2005) Tropical Storm Cristobal On August 16th, the National Hurricane Center began monitoring a tropical wave traversing through the western Caribbean. Limited, if any, development was expected through the next two days. By August 19th, the wave had emerged into the Bay of Campeche where favorable conditions awaited it. Late in the evening on August 19th, the system had heavy thunderstorms persist enough around the low pressure center to be upgraded to Tropical Depression Three. The depression continued to become more organized, taking advantage of high sea surface temperatures, low shear, and the cyclonic shape of the Bay of Campeche, and rapidly intensified into Tropical Storm Cristobal with winds of 65mph. Dry air began to intrude into Bertha, halting further intensification as the storm began to slow down. Cristobal made landfall with winds of 50mph on August 20th, just south of Veracruz, Mexico. Two fatalities were reported from heavy flooding, and minimal damage was reported. Tropical Storm Dolly Late on August 28th, an area of low pressure began to form associated with a trough split off the coast of North Carolina. The low pressure area began to organize and on August 29th it was to be considered a tropical depression. Little change in organization took place over the next few hours as the tropical cyclone began to move to the north east at roughly 10-15mph. As the depression moved to the northeast, it began to quickly gain speed as the result of a shortwave trough approaching New England. As the depression accelerated, it became Tropical Storm Dolly and achieved peak intensity late on August 29 as a 40mph tropical storm. The next day, Dolly began to lose tropical characteristics and was no longer considered a tropical storm by August 30. Hurricane Edouard A tropical wave, interacting with a surface low, began to be monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on August 31st in the western Caribbean. The system began to slowly become better organized, yet lacked a surface circulation although numerous thunderstorms were present. Moderate wind shear began to disrupt the storm on the 1st, but a hurricane hunter investigating the disturbance found that it had developed a well organized low-level center and was upgraded to Tropical Depression Five on the evening of September 1. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Edouard 24 hours later on September 2. Gradual intensification continued, and Edouard was approaching hurricane status when it made landfall in the Yucatan. The storm weakened slightly, yet still was predicted to strengthen over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Moderate wind shear put a damper on Edouard's intensification, yet Edouard managed to become a minimal hurricane on September 5th as it approached Galveston, Texas. Edouard made landfall on the morning of September 6th as a 85mph hurricane. The storm dissipated on the 7th, leaving behind 5 fatalities and roughly $68 million dollars in damages. Tropical Storm Fay A tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa on September 10th and was noted by the National Hurricane Center later that day. The tropical wave was expected to move west and remain weak due to high levels of Saharan Dust and strong easterlies. The tropical wave continued to become better organized and was upgraded to Tropical Depression Six on September 11. The depression remained very disorganized, and with an unusually high pressure of 1015mb, moving west at nearly 35mph. Because of this, the depression had difficulty surviving the harsh conditions and nearly dissipated on September 12. However, late on September 13 convection began to establish itself over the area of low pressure, and the storm's barometric pressure began to slowly fall. Satellite agencies on the September 14 determined the storm was sufficiently organized to be considered a tropical storm, the fifth of the season. Fay's outlook remained bleak, as the storm was quickly moving towards a tropical upper troposphere trough (TUTT) strung out over the Winward islands and the Atlantic. When hurricane hunters investigated the storm on September 15 little sign of a closed circulation was found and the National Hurricane Center discontinued advisories on Fay Hurricane Gonzalo While Fay was struggling in the eastern Atlantic, a piece of energy associated with Fay managed to separate itself and move quickly westward through the Caribbean. Although little notice was given to the low pressure area at first, several computer models began to predict the possibility of a tropical cyclone developing in the Bay of Campeche later in the month. The area of low pressure became better established on the 21st and the National Hurricane Center tagged it the disturbance. Hurricane hunters went out to to the low pressure area on the 22nd and found no sign of a surface circulation. The disturbance made landfall in Belize later that day without development. Most computer models by then were predicting the possibility of a significant tropical cyclone developing in the Bay of Campeche, and as the disturbance crossed the Yucatan, the National Hurricane Center continued to raise the chances of tropical cyclone development. The disturbance emerged on the morning of the 24th and quickly began to reorganize itself. Hurricane Hunters again investigated the system and found it had rapidly developed into Tropical Storm Gonzalo, the sixth storm of the season. Tropical Storm watches and warnings went up for the Mexican Gulf Coast, as little movement was expected from Gonzalo as it grew slowly in strength. Under the influence of a weakness in the ridge to the north, Gonzalo slowly began to crawl northwards and became a hurricane on September 26. Watches were issued from the Rio Grande to Corpus Christi, with a hurricane watch in effect for the Brownsville area. Gonzalo underwent a period of explosive deepening on the night of the 26th, and became a major hurricane around midnight. Mandatory evacuations went in place for South Padre Island as Gonzalo became a Category 4 hurricane by 6am CDT, September 27. The period of rapid intensification continued to go unabated, and data from a NOAA P-3 Hurricane Hunter showed Gonzalo had become a Category 5 hurricane, the first since Hurricane Felix in 2007. A special advisory was issued, stating Gonzalo was a catastrophic hurricane and mandatory evacuations must be headed throughout the Brownsville area. Gonzalo continued to intensify, although a slower pace, right up until landfall at 4pm CDT, with winds of 175mph and a pressure of 920mb. Gonzalo then moved inland and quickly weakened to a Category 1 hurricane by 10pm CDT and dissipated on September 28.. Gonzalo left significant damage to the South Padre Island and Brownsville areas, mostly from wind and storm surge. Overall, Fay caused over 8.52 billion (2014 USD) in property damage to the south Texas area. Gonzalo's landfall as a Category 5 marked the first Category 5 landfall in the United States since Hurricane Andrew 22 years prior, and the strongest since Hurricane Camille in 1969. The highest wind gust recorded on the afternoon of the 27th was recorded at over 200mph, the strongest wind gust ever recorded in a landfalling US Hurricane. An unofficial recording of a 261mph wind gust was recorded, although this record is dubious given the lack of calibration. If it had been confirmed, it would hold the record for strongest wind gust ever recorded in a tropical cyclone, beating out Tropical Cyclone Olivia's previous record of 253mph. Hurricane Hanna A tropical wave interacting with a surface low in the southwest Caribbean began to drift northwards on October 9. The area of disturbed weather began to show signs of organization on October 10, and was upgraded to Tropical Depression Eight early on the 10th. The tropical depression gradually organized, and a hurricane hunter found that Tropical Storm Hanna formed at 11am EDT, moving westward at 8mph. Hanna quickly began to pick up steam throughout the next 24 hours, and became a hurricane in a special advisory at 8am EDT on October 11. Hanna underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, halting further intensification. Moderate wind shear also began to impact Hanna's outflow to the north, as the result of an approaching cold front that was expected to move Hanna quickly to the northeast. The hurricane finished its eyewall replacement cyclone and strengthened into a 100mph Category 2 hurricane late on October 12 in Belize. The storm rapidly weakened as a result of the combined effort of land interaction and high wind shear, and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it began to accelerate to the northeast. Hanna dissipated early on October 13 as it approached Cuba. The impact from Hanna was minimal, with one fatality reported and roughly $91 million dollars in property damage done to Belize. Tropical Storm Isaias On October 30th, a non-tropical area of low pressure emerged off the US East Coast and gradually gained tropical characteristics. Satellite and buoy data indicated on November 1, the non-tropical area of low pressure had gained enough organization to be considered Subtropical Storm Isaias. Isaias throughout November 1 slowly gained tropical characteristics, and was upgraded to a tropical storm with winds of 50mph on November 2. Isaias then slowed down to 5mph as it drifted eastwards, bringing heavy rain and wind to the US Northeast. Heavy snowfall was reported in New York City of up to 15 inches. The tropical storm then continued moving northwards and weakening, bring with it blizzard conditions to Newfoundland and dissipating late on November 4. 'Storm names' The following names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2014. Retired names, if any, will be announced by the Word Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2015. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2020 season. This is the same list used in the 2008 season with the exception of Gonzalo, Isaias, and Paulette, which replaced Gustav, Ike, and Paloma respectively. The first name to be used this season will be Arthur. 'Retirment' The names "Bertha" and "Gonzalo" were retired due to the extensive damage and destruction caused to the United States and will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They were replaced by the names "Bianca" and "Garrett" for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. Category:Past Hurricane Seasons Category:Past Atlantic Seasons